From: Perry E. Metzger (perry@piermont.com)
Date: Mon Jun 23 1997 - 10:54:03 MDT
> From: Hagbard Celine <hagbard@ix.netcom.com>
>
> I am definitely missing something.
>
> How can an anarchist speak of law or legal systems?
Easily. Many places and times have operated without states but with
legal systems. Law does not require a State, any more than building
roads or delivering mail requires a State.
In medieval Europe, commercial law was entirely developed in private
courts without any power of state based enforcement behind them -- and
yet it worked well, and the Lex Mercatoria is the basis for all modern
commercial law.
In medieval Iceland, there was no "public" law enforcement at all --
all law enforcement was private. And yet, there was law.
If you want to learn more on this topic, I suggest "The Machinery of
Freedom" by Friedman and "The Enterprise of Law" by Benson as good
starting points.
Perry
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